Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches Calls for Moment of Prayer In Face of Tragedies and Violence

17 July 2014 -­‐-­‐-­‐ Today, as Israel and Hamas took a brief recess from their 10 -­‐day war, only to have that lull in fighting marred by the deaths of 4 Gaza children hit by missiles while playing on the beach near their homes; while violence claimed the lives of innocent civilians from the airport of Kabul to the streets of places like Syria and Iran, Iraq and Pakistan, someone shot an airplane out of the sky over Donetsk in the Ukraine, an already war-­‐ravaged area of the globe. Fields with purple flowers became the unintended resting place of 295 people on their way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The flight manifest has yet to be released, but we know from our friends around the world that at least 5 AIDS activists on their way from points in Europe to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne were among those lost.

At times like this, our hearts are broken for the families and friends, the allies and co -­‐workers of all those lost to violence and the senseless tragedies it produces. While many on the airwaves debate who is responsible for the tragedies, I am drawn to the example of Jesus, who when pressed by the crowds of unrelenting needs around him for relief and healing and peace, would go off to a lonely place to pray.

And so, I ask all MCCers and people of faith to join me in prayer now.

O God, We give you thanks for the gift of life, and the chance you give to all of us to live each day with a heart for compassion and care and a spirit attuned to peace. We mourn all our brothers and sisters lost to violence and needless violence and tragedy today, especially those on Malaysia Airlines flight 17 and those 4 little boys on the beach in Gaza Cit y. Be with their families and friends left behind, and help them to find some comfort in knowing that they are at peace with you, and that we will all one day be together again. With a full heart, O God, we pray for peace on this earth and goodwill among a ll. Regardless of our political persuasions or belief systems, help us to renounce all violence and to seek to live in a way that promotes the wellbeing of all your children. Give us all the courage to follow in the footsteps of Jesus the Christ, Prince of Peace, in whose name we pray. +Amen